never re-create it.
She brushed some dust from the frame. “Seems like a lifetime ago. David was so excited. He was ready to tackle the world.” She sighed and set the photo on the shelf.
“I need to take a look at his computer.” I turned on the power. The background popped up, a picture of Jesus holding some guy who had a mallet and nail in his hand. Nice. I half expected a comment from Pam, but none came.
David's computer wasn't password protected. Trusting guy—or foolish. I attached my external hard drive to the USB port and started copying his hard drive. When I had time, I'd go through his last e-mails and contacts. He had QuickBooks loaded as well as Excel, so I'd review his financial records too.
There are a few reasons why people kill other people—most of the time it revolves around money or sex. Sometimes there's a deranged killer who does things beyond explanation. Or there's revenge. But if you dig deeper into the revenge motive, you'll almost always find money or sex at the root. If cops follow those angles, they'll almost always find their suspects. So much for just asking a few questions . My old instincts were kicking in, albeit a little slowly.
Mario walked back in. “Hey, what do you think you're doing?”
“Looking,” I said, not inclined to explain myself to the ex-con.
“What exactly are you looking for?” Mario said. “And don't you need a warrant for that?”
“Information.” I swiveled the chair around and faced him as the hard-drive copying continued. “Any problem with that?”
He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Pam flashed him a stand-down stare. “There's just a lot of ministry business on there, so you should've at least asked.”
“David's business is on there as well, which means it's my business now.” I pushed back in the chair and steepled my fingers. It was his move next, and that would tell me volumes about him. “But you decide if I can take this or not. If there's something on here you don't want me to see, just let me know. Your call.”
“Pam?” He opened his arms, palms up. “I don't like this. I want to help, but we can't have someone digging through our stuff. There's sensitive financial records and donor information we have a responsibility to protect.”
“Ray knows what he's doing. It could help find David's killer.”
Mario's demeanor softened, with Pam anyway. He glared at me with his fiery felon eyes. “Fine. Take what you need.”
I checked the screen. Two more minutes before the copying was complete. Mario made a good decision, but regardless of what he would have said, I was leaving with that hard drive. I just wanted to hear his objections before I took it. That could point me in a valuable direction.
“Do you know the girl, Jamie DeAngelo, who was found dead with David?” I said.
“Never heard the name,” Mario said.
“Did David ever mention that he was dating anyone?”
“He would have told me if he was.” Pam glanced at me. I preached to her with my eyes. Mario needed to answer his own questions.
“No. And I think I would've known if he was,” Mario said. “Most people tend to keep their lives private. Not David. He was a pretty open book.”
“Did David seem worried about anything?” I said. “Do you know of anyone who would want to harm him?”
“Look, we run a street ministry.” Mario tossed his inked arms in the air. “We give meals to those in need. We help people get jobs, give 'em a place to stay for a while if they need it, and help get them into rehab. We preach the gospel. The streets can be tough at times, but no one wanted to kill David for helping people.”
“What do you think happened to him?” I said.
Mario paused and glanced sideways at Pam. “I don't know. I just don't know.”
“Well, there are only two possible explanations.” I stood and faced them. “David either did what the detectives claim, or someone murdered him and Jamie DeAngelo.”
10
W HEN I TOLD PAM I was
She brushed some dust from the frame. “Seems like a lifetime ago. David was so excited. He was ready to tackle the world.” She sighed and set the photo on the shelf.
“I need to take a look at his computer.” I turned on the power. The background popped up, a picture of Jesus holding some guy who had a mallet and nail in his hand. Nice. I half expected a comment from Pam, but none came.
David's computer wasn't password protected. Trusting guy—or foolish. I attached my external hard drive to the USB port and started copying his hard drive. When I had time, I'd go through his last e-mails and contacts. He had QuickBooks loaded as well as Excel, so I'd review his financial records too.
There are a few reasons why people kill other people—most of the time it revolves around money or sex. Sometimes there's a deranged killer who does things beyond explanation. Or there's revenge. But if you dig deeper into the revenge motive, you'll almost always find money or sex at the root. If cops follow those angles, they'll almost always find their suspects. So much for just asking a few questions . My old instincts were kicking in, albeit a little slowly.
Mario walked back in. “Hey, what do you think you're doing?”
“Looking,” I said, not inclined to explain myself to the ex-con.
“What exactly are you looking for?” Mario said. “And don't you need a warrant for that?”
“Information.” I swiveled the chair around and faced him as the hard-drive copying continued. “Any problem with that?”
He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Pam flashed him a stand-down stare. “There's just a lot of ministry business on there, so you should've at least asked.”
“David's business is on there as well, which means it's my business now.” I pushed back in the chair and steepled my fingers. It was his move next, and that would tell me volumes about him. “But you decide if I can take this or not. If there's something on here you don't want me to see, just let me know. Your call.”
“Pam?” He opened his arms, palms up. “I don't like this. I want to help, but we can't have someone digging through our stuff. There's sensitive financial records and donor information we have a responsibility to protect.”
“Ray knows what he's doing. It could help find David's killer.”
Mario's demeanor softened, with Pam anyway. He glared at me with his fiery felon eyes. “Fine. Take what you need.”
I checked the screen. Two more minutes before the copying was complete. Mario made a good decision, but regardless of what he would have said, I was leaving with that hard drive. I just wanted to hear his objections before I took it. That could point me in a valuable direction.
“Do you know the girl, Jamie DeAngelo, who was found dead with David?” I said.
“Never heard the name,” Mario said.
“Did David ever mention that he was dating anyone?”
“He would have told me if he was.” Pam glanced at me. I preached to her with my eyes. Mario needed to answer his own questions.
“No. And I think I would've known if he was,” Mario said. “Most people tend to keep their lives private. Not David. He was a pretty open book.”
“Did David seem worried about anything?” I said. “Do you know of anyone who would want to harm him?”
“Look, we run a street ministry.” Mario tossed his inked arms in the air. “We give meals to those in need. We help people get jobs, give 'em a place to stay for a while if they need it, and help get them into rehab. We preach the gospel. The streets can be tough at times, but no one wanted to kill David for helping people.”
“What do you think happened to him?” I said.
Mario paused and glanced sideways at Pam. “I don't know. I just don't know.”
“Well, there are only two possible explanations.” I stood and faced them. “David either did what the detectives claim, or someone murdered him and Jamie DeAngelo.”
10
W HEN I TOLD PAM I was
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